• Phase behavior and interfacial properties guide surfactant floods: ternary/phase diagrams, salinity and cosurfactant effects, and middle-phase microemulsions are optimized to achieve low interfacial tension and efficient oil mobilization [8], [5], [7], [11], [19], [13], [6].

• Capillary forces and interfacial phenomena govern microscopic displacement and residual oil, linking surface tensions, interfacial viscosities, and coalescence to displacement efficiency; core-scale and interfacial studies highlight oil entrapment control [14], [9], [16], [4].

• Polymer flooding remains central for mobility control and can synergize with micellar systems; lab-based evaluations emphasize essential elements for EOR, crossflow/retention effects, and reduced polymer requirements due to micellar interactions [15], [17], [1].

• Microemulsion-focused formulation and cosurfactant strategies drive low-tension floods and phase behavior tailoring; studies map salinity/phase behavior, middle-phase formation, and optimal formulations for effective surfactant flooding [2], [3], [8], [11], [5], [7], [13].